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Principality of Andorra and Alt Urgell
The Principality of Andorra is a post-war country directly descended from the pre-war country of Andorra, which was not directly impacted by the Great War, as well as the Spanish comarca of Alt Orgell, which joined with the Principality in 2091. History Pre-War The Principality of Andorra was one of the smallest countries in Europe before the Great War, consisting only of a few towns in a valley in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. The Principality became independent in 1278 after a mediation by the king of Aragon between the French count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell made the count and the bishops co-princes of the country. In 1607, the King of France replaced the Count of Foix as the co-prince of Andorra. After the Revolution, the co-principality passed to the French head of state (the president of France as of 2077). The country was briefly annexed by the French Empire during the Napoleonic period, before independence was re-declared in 1814. In 1866, reforms were made replacing the old aristocratic control of the country with a 24-member elected council. At this point, the service economy based on tourism also began. In 1880 and into 1881, a brief internal conflict broke out after the co-princes banned gambling in the principality, a major tourist draw and source of revenue, leading to an uprising the ended in June 1881 with the signing of a treaty between the two factions and the election of a new council. During the First World War, Andorra declared war on the side of the Allies, but did not officially send an army, though some Andorrans volunteered to fighting with the French. As they were not included in the treaty of Versailles, they remained legally at war with Germany until 1958, though this obviously had no real impact. The country again came into brief social unrest in the 1930s, including a brief occupation by France in 1933, as well as former Russian nobleman Boris Skossyreff briefly declaring himself king of Andorra in 1934. Andorra remained neutral in both the Spanish Civil War and World War II and became a haven for refugees first from Spain and then Nazi-occupied France. During the period after the war, the economy boomed, particularly from tourism, leading to the construction of many ski resorts and other tourist facilities. The country would remain a popular tourist destination until the Great War. In 1993 the constitution was modernized, and in 2006, the country adopted the Euro as currency in 2006. Postwar When the bombs fell on October 23rd, 2077, the small country was Andorra was spared the worst of the destruction, though many would still die from violence and radiation poisoning in the aftermath of the war. Immediately the Andorran militia was called up for the first time in over a century- during peacetime only a small ceremonial army of 16 men existed- and the national police were also mobilized to curtail looting and violence. The militia, armed mostly with bolt-action rifles and shotguns, with only the national police having automatic weapons, set up what defenses they could near the two main passes leading into Andorra, and set up dynamite charges taken from demolition and mining sites to block the passes in the event ex-French or Spanish Army troops turned raiders attempted to seize the small country using armored vehicles. In spite of this, the early years after the war were chaotic, with law and order often only extending to the area around the capital city of Andorra La Vella and other major towns. This chaos was exacerbated by food shortages, as Andorra imported much of its food prior to the war. By 2090, the population had dropped from about 85,000 in 2077 to just above 30,000. The small Andorra militia received assistance from a company-sized group of ex-French Army troops, who decided to "aid the last remains of civilization they could find". The French troops also brought with them four AMX-90 Petain main battle tanks and four armored personnel carriers, which remain operation into the 2200s, their original power plants being replaced with more common fusion cores, and were used mostly guard the border checkpoints. In 2091, the surviving Andorran Prince, the Bishop of Urgell (the French president being presumed dead in a nuclear attack on Paris), who had, along with the mayor of the city of Sau de Urgell, taken on a role of local leadership in the region, officially joined the region of Alt Urgell, located immediately to the south of Andorra, with the country. This, in effect, almost doubled the size of the tiny principality. During the 2100s, the population gradually stabilized to about 40,000 people in the principality of Andorra and Alt Urgell. With tourism in the postwar period becoming practically non-existent, the Andorrans gradually reworked their economy to center around logging in the forests of the mountains, as well as some mining of lead deposits in the country. Eventually, trade was re-established with various in city-states in Spain and France, with Andorra becoming a major trade stop, being located on a pass through the Pyrenees. In the 2100s, the Andorrans also started producing gold coins, referred to as "Euros" after the former pan-European currency used from 2006 until 2077. By the 2200s, the stabilization of some post-war states allowed for safer travel in the region, allowing some wealthier inhabitants to be post-war states to travel for pleasure once again, creating a post-war tourist industry similar to that of New Vegas in the former United States. In the 2200s, the emergent Barcino's Empire began expanding, eventually reaching a border with Alt Urgell. As of 2300, however, the Empire has not invaded the country as, while they far outnumber the Andorrans, the mountain passes would act as a chokepoint that would lead to heavy losses, deterring an invasion attempt. Government During the pre-war period, Andorra was a parliamentary co-principality shared between the President of France and the Bishop of Alt-Urgell. During the Great War of 2077, Paris suffered multiple direct hits from nuclear weapons and the French president was presumed killed. As such, after 2077, the only the Bishop of Alt-Urgell remained. The co-princes role is mostly ceremonial, though the Bishop of Alt-Urgell took up a more direct leadership role along with the Prime Minister of Andorra during the period immediately after the Great War, and was responsible for the union between Andorra and Alt-Urgell.The primary organ of state authority is the General Council, a unicameral parliament with half of the members elected from the seven (later twelve after the addition of Alt-Urgell) electoral parishes and half by national direct election. The Councilors serve for four years. The head of the ruling party in the General Council is a head of government, or Prime Minister of Andorra. As it did in the pre-war, Andorra (and Alt-Urgell after the union) has four different courts, the Magistrate's Courts, Criminal Courts, High Court of Andorra, and the Constitutional Courts. The Magistrate's and Criminal Courts handle common criminal and civil cases, which can be appealed to the High Courts. The Constitutional Court is responsible for all issues of constitutionality of laws and treaties. The Constitutional Court consists of four judges, while the in High Court consists of five. The judges are appointed by either the General Council, Prime Minister, or the prince, with one appointed by the prince, one by the Prime Minister, and the remainder by the General Council. Military and Law Enforcement Prior to the Great War, Andorra had only a ceremonial army of 16 men, though provision existed to call up a militia consisting of every able-bodied male between 21 and 60 after a Sometent (alarm) is called during a period of national emergency. As such, every household must have access to a rifle. On October 23rd, 2077, as the bombs fell on major cities across Europe, the Sometent was called, and the militia was called up to maintain order, construct defenses on the borders, including placing dynamite charges taken from mines and demolition sites on slopes above the mountain passes into the country, to be detonated in the event more heavily armed rogue ex-Spanish or French army raiders attempted to attack the country. As it turned out, the first unit of French military forces supported the Andorrans and greatly bolstered their strength with a company of soldiers, four tanks, and six APCs. When the former comarca of Alt Urgell joined the country in 2091, eight more tanks and 11 APCs formerly belonging to the Spanish Army were added to the Andorran army, and eight aircraft, all formerly civilian light planes were seized as an Air Force, some later being armed with machine guns, rockets, and small bombs. Ever since 2077, a small permanent Andorran Army of about 1000 personnel has existed, mostly divided between the border checkpoints and the cities of Andorra la Vella, Seu de Urgell, and Oriana. During periods of emergency, the Sometent can be called, either for the whole country or a region, and, like in the pre-war period, the militia can be called up in the event of attacks by raiders, mutants, or other hostile factions. The Andorran army is equipped with a mixture of French and Spanish-made weapons, with smaller numbers of German and Swiss-made weapons. While the weapons are different national origins, the fact that all of these countries used pre-war NATO standard ammunition means that the Andorran still use common ammunition types, specifically 9mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 BMG. The permanent professional army is equipped mostly with either FAMAS or CETME model L assault rifles, as well as CETME 58 battle rifles, as well as various specialist weapons in standard calibers, such as machine guns, rocket launchers, and a handful of energy weapons. The army also has 12 howitzers, 60 mortars, 12 tanks, 17 APCs, 80 technicals and other light vehicles, and eight aircraft, all converted from pre-war civilian planes and helicopters. Militia forces are much more variable in weaponry, carrying various bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, as well as various assault rifles and SMGs captured from raiders and mutants. The Andorran national police are responsible for internal law enforcement and security, though they will be called up to support the army and militia in an emergency. They are typically equipped with a 9mm handgun, though some special units carry assault rifles and submachine guns. Territory In 2091, the Bishop of Urgell and the Prime Minister of Andorra, along with the postwar councils of La Seu de Urgell and the other municipalities of Alt-Urgell joined Andorra to form the Principality of Andorra and Alt Urgell. The area was divided to into twelve parishes, including the original seven of Andorra and five more created from Alt-Urgell. The land of the Principality of Andorra and Alt Urgell is located high in the Pyrenees Mountains, with much of the land being covered by mountains. Most of the population is lives in a few towns in the valleys, the largest being Andorra La Vella and La Seu de Urgell. This location in the mountains makes invasion by even later hostile factions a difficult prospect, preserving the independence of the principality. Category:Post-War Countries Category:Post-War Factions